The San Diego Padres' ongoing quest for a World Series (or at least a playoff title). "You know that many runners enter a race, but only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever." 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

On a Roll

Let me tell you, this team has been playing great baseball. They may be 16 games behind, but they are giving us a quality product. On Saturday, Josh Geer (pictured) made his major league debut. He went 5 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Losing 2-0, we went into the 4th and got 6 runs. Luis Rodriguez doubled, Adrian walked. On a wild pitch, both moved up. Chase Headley walked, then Will Venable singled in our first run. The tying run scored on a fielder’s choice. Hundley walked. Then Geer came to the plate for his first major league AB. All he had to do was stand there. Ulbaldo Jimenez walked him on 4 pitches with the bases loaded, so we pushed across our third run. Brian Giles then got a 2-run single. Rodriguez got his second hit of the inning to drive in run #6. In the 7th, we got three more runs. Mike Adams threw 2 scoreless innings. Chad Reineke, recently removed to the bullpen, threw one scoreless, but gave up 2 in the 9th. No matter, because we win 9-4. Josh Geer got the win. Overall, a great game played by the Padres.

Yesterday, Jake pitched. Enough said, but I have to tell you about his incredible performance. 8 innings, 5 hits, 2 walks, 13 strikeouts. He was locked in. Jeff Francis was almost as good. Luis Rodriguez drove in Jake for our first run in the 5th. It stayed 1-0 until the 9th. Trevor came in, and believe me, he was not sharp. After the first batter, you could tell that he didn’t have his stuff working. He almost got out of the inning, but he gave up the tying run for his 4th blown save of the year. But he held it at a tie game. Bottom of the 9th, Will Venable led off with a single. Sean Kazmar was unable to bunt Will over. But Brian Giles singled to move Will to third. Here comes Luis Rodriguez. In case you hadn’t noticed, this guy has been playing like a major leaguer. He has been hitting like crazy, and making incredible defensive plays. With a 1-2 count, he lined the walk-off single to right. So, we win the game 2-1, and the series 2 games to 1. We went 5-1 on this homestand. Trevor blew the save, but the really disappointing part of this game was that Jake didn’t get the win. Trev got it, but you know he would give all three of his wins to Jake. Oh, well. As Trevor said,”I’m just glad we won.” What a great game. What a great week! GO PADRES!!

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